


a ticket for a world where we belong

by saunatonttu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Long Distance Relationship, M/M, and by that I mean this is the cheesiest thing I've written yet, unapologetic fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 03:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3834886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saunatonttu/pseuds/saunatonttu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reading Tetsurou's letters was the best with a mug of hot chocolate and a piece of strawberry shortcake. Those were the little things that made Kei happy. His little, precious things.</p><p>Now, in his second year of high school, it was easier to admit to himself just how happy Tetsurou's silly, affectionate letters really made him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a ticket for a world where we belong

”Kei, another love letter!”

Kei grimaced at his brother's wording as he hopped up from bed, trying to not seem too eager (and failing) when he stepped out of his room.

”Would you stop calling them love letters,” he grunted when he saw Akiteru waving an unopened envelope in his hand.

An infuriatingly teasing grin tugged at Akiteru's lips. ”I call them what they are, little brother.” 

”You don't even know the contents.”

”Kei, plese, it's the 21st century. Someone as young as Kuroo-kun would send letters only with the idea of being romantic and expressing his undying love for you via-” 

” _Enough_ ,” Kei muttered as he snatched the letter from his brother's hands while tryng to hide his flustered face. ”You didn't read it, right?”

”It's still unopened, Kei,” Akiteru said, eyes crinkling in amusement as he watched his brother's hands fiddle with the letter almost unsurely. ”Like I would read your private mail.”

”There was that one time,” Kei began and threw a deadpan look to Akiteru's way. 

”I was young and foolish!”

”That literally happened a month ago.”

”Like I said, young and foolish.”

Kei rolled his eyes, but there was a slight smile on his lips as he retreated back to his room.  _Ah, young love,_ Akiteru thought to himself fondly.

.

.

.

Tetsurou was, Kei had learned right at the beginning of their relationship, a cheesy guy. A romantic sap, Tetsurou had called himself with a grin on his face. It was an accurate description, too, considering that Tetsurou actually bothered to write him letters by hand. 

Even though they sent each other text messages each day (good mornings, good nights, how-are-yous, I-miss-your-face ones), which Kei had pointed out. 

” _Yeah, but there's something about writing letters to your beloved that gives it a special feeling, you know?”_ Tetsurou had murmured as they discussed it over the phone. _”You like it regardless, don't you?”_

Kei had found it difficult to admit that Tetsurou was right. He liked Tetsurou's brand of sappiness (heartfelt but embarrassing words, gestures of pure adoration), even though it made him wary on the occasion when his own insecurities came out to play with his head. 

God, did he have a lot of them.

Somehow the fact hadn't deterred Tetsurou away from him. 

” _You're surprisingly insecure,”_ he had simply said after their first Big Argument – one which ended with Tetsurou apologizing for being so stubborn and promising to give Kei more room if his affections felt suffocating. 

Kei still felt bad for making Tetsurou take the blame for that one; it wasn't his fault Kei was a bundle of  _ why would you like me _ s and  _ I'm not good enough _ s. 

Still, even regardless of his doubts, Kei liked the small and occasional grand ways Tetsurou showered him with affection. Text messages, the  _ stupid _ emojis, the affectionate tone when they talked on phone. Sometimes that tone was all Kei could get, since they lived with a great distance between them.

And the letters, of course. 

.

.

.

Reading Tetsurou's letters was the best with a mug of hot chocolate and a piece of strawberry shortcake. Those were the little things that made Kei happy. His little, precious things. 

Now, in his second year of high school, it was easier to admit to himself just how happy Tetsurou's silly, affectionate letters really made him. 

He didn't have hot chocolate or strawberry shortcake with him, but he could still curl up in his bed, hug one of his stuffed dinosaur toys, and slowly start reading Tetsurou's handwriting while inwardly taking note of the sharp lines of the kanji and katakana. 

Handwriting really did show some of the writer's characteristics, Kei had noticed it after the frst few letters. Honestly, he had expected Tetsurou's to be messier (like his room was in general;  _ I know where I find stuff, so it's ok,  _ Tetsurou had shrugged) but instead each stroke was sharp and exactly where they should be. Sometimes thicker, sometimes thinner lines. 

Kei liked the way Tetsurou wrote his name on the envelope, too, even though he wouldn't admit it out loud. The small, unimportant mental image of Tetsurou moving his wrist to write the kanji of Kei's name made Kei smile and feel a little bit closer to his far away boyfriend. 

Oh, God, maybe Tetsurou's condition of sappiness was  _ contagious. _

 

_ Dear Tsukishima Kei,  _ the letter started. They always started like that, even though Tetsurou had given him several embarrassing nicknames already. Certainly enough to pick one from them instead of using his full name. 

Apparently, it was supposed to be romantic.

Kei might be thinking that it was; he couldn't hide his smile from himself as his arm held the dinosaur toy tighter against his chest, his free hand holding the pieces of paper that formed the letter. 

Tetsuorou  _ loved _ to ramble, even when Kei didn't always respond.

 

 

_ I never get tired of writing your name in paper, so I guess that's why I keep doing it even when you complain about the formal tone that it has. To me, though, it sounds more personal, you know? In TV shows, every proposal begins with the one doing the proposing saying the other's full name before proceeding with the actual act. _

 

Kei sighed and closed his eyes. Apparently Tetsurou had been watching soap operas lately; he wasn't sure whose influence that was – Tetsurou's own team's, or Kei's complaints' about how Hinata kept rambling about (and spoiling) a drama he watched with his mom. 

Not that Tetsurou needed dramas to get any ideas in his head. He was full of ridiculous, romantic ideas and love that he showed to those he cared for. 

Like these letters. Like the presents Tetsurou mailed him even when there wasn't anything to celebrate. 

Kei opened his eyes to continue reading, his lips twitching between a smile and a fondly exasperated frown.

 

_ Not that we're anywhere near proposals yet, I guess, but there's nothing wrong with writing your name. Tsukishima Kei. I like writing it as much as I love saying the name, although Tsukki fits my mouth better. _

 

 

Kei turned around and buried his face into a pillow, telling himself to calm the fuck down. They were nothing but words written on a paper. 

Extremely  _ gay _ words on paper, but it wasn't worse than hearing Tetsurou whisper them into his ear whenever he stayed over Tetsurou's place for a night or two. 

Kei could feel his face heating up just from the memory of the last time Tetsurou's arms were draped over him and Tetsurou's lips close to his ear, murmuring sweet nothings that made Kei's heart beat fast and hard.

Things like  _ I'd rather watch you than the sunrise in the morning _ and  _ my favourite colour is the shade of your hair.  _ (The latter was patently untrue; Tetsurou's favourite color was red. Go figure – but it still didn't change the fact that Kei had blushed and squirmed a little deeper into Tetsurou's hug after that.)

Oh, god, he really was as bad as Tetsurou, wasn't he?

Once he got a hold of himself, Kei adjusted his position and went back to reading the letter, cheeks hot as he saw the words.

 

_ Anyways, you always grumble when I ramble too much (I'm still gonna do it, though), so I guess I should get to the point. But the point of these letters is to shower you with love, and I don't know how else to do it. I like rambling about how great you are, anyway; how good you make me feel. I hope I'm making you feel as good as you make me. _

 

 

Tetsurou was a fucking godsent, and Kei stopped to marvel his existence in his life for a little while. 

He was still a little hesitant on whether he actually deserved Tetsurou or not, but he was starting to realize that Tetsurou wouldn't have stuck around for such a long time in this relationship if he didn't want to, if he didn't love Kei just as much as he claimed.

Kei wasn't just time spent on messing around.

 

 

_ I miss you a lot, but the photos you send me really help. Especially those where you smile. You have this really cute smile that makes your eyes crinkle and light up like Christmas lights my mom used to hang on the Christmas tree when the holidays came. We used to celebrate it each year, like I told you.  _

_ This is probably going to sound stupid to you, since you're not big on holidays, but I'd really like to spend those with you. Christmas, New Year. I want to beging the next year with you by my side as we watch fireworks.  _

_ Yeah, I know what you're gonna say. Fireworks are loud and winter is cold, but you know I'd be there to warm you up. In any sense of the word. _

 

 

Kei had half the urge to throw a pillow at Tetsurou's smug ass face, but he wasn't there. So he couldn't.

And that made his chest tight and toes curl in disappointment.

 

 

_ I miss just holding your hand in mine and entwining our fingers. You always complain how cold you are because of your bad circulation, but you're warm enough for me.  _

_ You're warm enough as you are, Tsukki.  _

_ Although if it's a health issue, I hope it gets better. _

 

 

Kei could picture Tetsurou grinning sheepishly at him, hand ruffling at the back of his hair in a feeble attempt at hiding his embarrassment. 

Kei inhaled sharply, shaking his head before continuing skimming through the rest of the letter.

 

_ I want to take you to watch fireflies when it's summer but the night isn't too hot. I want to take you there, even if you might complain about the branches of trees slapping your arm and forest being disgusting.  _

_ Though, I guess I'm the city boy of the two of us, so t's supposed to be me that gets grossed out by the wildlife. I do dislike bugs, though. Feel free to laugh, Tsukki, I know you find that amusing.  _

_ But yeah, anyway, I want to take you to a field of fireflies where they fly by us and glow like tiny stars, except more softly. Ah, the perfect comparison would be your eyes, actually. They glow sometimes with this gentle light that makes me weak. Really, seriously weak.  _

” _Aren't you ashamed to admit that?” you'll ask, and well. You've known me this long, and you know what I'll say._

_ I can never be ashamed when I'm with you.  _

 

Kei reread the last line at least five times before he managed to continue. He had known he couldn't read this with a straight face. He had  _ known. _

 

_ I have been trying to come up with a pretty poem about you, but Yaku keeps telling me they're no good. Maybe his taste sucks. Maybe I should ask Kenma next. Or Bokuto, since I'm rooming with him.  _

 

”No,” Kei said out loud. 

 

_ One day. One day, I will come up with the perfect poem about you, and you will read it and fall in love with me again. I promise. Or if I don't, I'll just... probably fall into despair? Not really, but I'm kinda proud of my artistic skills, so I really hope you'll love it as much as you love me.  _

_ Tsukki, Tsukki, I wish I could kiss you goodnight. I miss you. I'm sorry for not always being around to Skype with you. I hope these letters make up a little, even if you can't see my handsome face.  _

_ I do regret not seeing your pretty face, though. (Pretty and handsome. Pretty handsome, actually.)  _

 

”What the hell, Tetsu,” Kei rubbed his face into the toy dinosaur, hoping that his eyes weren't as wet as he thought they were. 

 

_ With undying, unwithering love, Tetsurou.  _

_ P.S. Roses are on sale in a nearby flowershop, and I wish I could send you some. I wonder if they would send them to Miyagi upon request.  _

 

Kei reread the whole letter at least four times before he could bring himself to put it down on his nightstand. He would look through it again before sleeping in a few hours, probably. 

(It wasn't even a probability as much as inevitability at this point; they both clung to the small things when they were robbed of physical touch and sight of each other.)

He should go down for dinner soon, but not before calling Tetsurou. 

”Hey,” Kei murmured when Tetsurou picked up on the third ring. ”I got your letter.”

He could hear Tetsurou's smile even before he spoke, and that was saying something.  _ ”Oho? I'm glad to hear that my love reached you.”  _ He sounded vaguely embarrassed though, as he should. That letter had been unbelievable...

”Tetsu please,” Kei sighed, but there was no hiding the fond tone. ”It manages to reach me even without the letters,” he said more quietly, throat constricting around the words as embarrassment crept upon him. 

” _Oh, babe,”_ Tetsurou's sigh from the other end was wistful and absolutely charmed. _”I knew you'd fall for my charms one of these days.”_

”Tetsu, we've been dating for several months now. I think I fell a long time ago--” Kei pursed his lips shut as a faint horror at his own honesty rose up within him. He shouldn't feel so self-conscious, but he still did, and it was _annoying._

” _Ah, Tsukki's honesty is what my ears like to hear right now,”_ Tetsurou laughed softly, gently, and Kei's heart raced. He hadn't fallen in love – he had tripped into it, and the worst thing was he couldn't exactly tell when it had happened. _”I'm glad my letter made you so happy.”_

_ It didn't _ danced on Kei's lips, but the words never came out.

They would be a lie, after all.

” _Hey, Tsukki,”_ Tetsurou continued without missing a beat. _”It's going to be a full moon tonight.”_

”So?” Kei glanced outside his window. Not dark enough for the moon to come out yet. 

” _Wanna watch it with me?”_ Tetsurou sounded... playful, but also like he was serious about it. Like he wanted, really really wanted to do it with Kei. 

Even if they had a long way to each other's arms. 

”I don't get why,” Kei sighed. ”It's just a moon. It'll come around eventually. We see it all the time.”

” _Tsukkiii,”_ Tetsurou whined, _”I meant it as in call me and we'll talk and watch the moon, you know? It'll make the experience so good. We haven't really talked on Skype or phone recently, anyway.”_

”We have texted, though,” Kei bit on his lower lip, contemplative even though he knew he wouldn't say no. He didn't want to say no. 

” _Texting is different,"_ Tetsurou mumbled, tone sulky enough to make Kei snicker. _”I just wanna hear your voice and tell you about stuff. Like how the moon in the sky can't compare to you.”_

He had heard stupid, emotional shit from Tetsurou all the time when they actually managed to be together, and even during calls because Tetsurou had no filter whatsoever.

Still, Kei's face turned hotter from simply hearing Tetsurou say that without faltering. 

”Fine,” he said, trying to grumble, but he was sure the stutter was as audible to Tetsurou as it had been to his own ears. 

” _And maybe, maybe if I say it enough,”_ Tetsurou sighed wistfully into Kei's ear, _”you'll realize how beautiful you are, too.”_

”I'm hanging up, Tetsurou.” Kei wanted to cry. He wanted to hug Tetsurou. He wanted to kiss him. 

Just... he just wanted Tetsurou. 

” _Wait, Tsukki! Please call me when the moon comes out there, okay?”_

”Okay, okay,” Kei mumbled, smiling a little. ”You go have dinner, too.”

” _I'll be thinking of you,”_ Tetsurou said, and his words held the smile that Kei couldn't see right then. _”Talk to you later, love.”_

”Later,” Kei agreed softly, waiting on the line until Tetsurou hung up. 

 

 

”Tetsurou, you can hang up now.”

” _Nooo, you hang up first, Tsukki.”_

 

 

_ We're hopeless, _ Kei thought as he tried not to laugh at how idiotic they both were. At how idiotically in love they both were. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much reading   
> i can't believe i wrote this i can't believ e


End file.
